Hartest grandfather Ian Simpson wins custody of murdered son Michael's daughter Alice, but her brother Jack must stay in China

Hartest pensioner Ian Simpson has won custody of his six-year-old granddaughter, Alice, but his eight-year-old grandson, Jack, must stay in China.

Mr Simpson is the father of a retail executive who was murdered while living in Shanghai two years ago.

Last year, Mr Simpson flew to China to see his former daughter-in-law given life imprisonment for stabbing his son to death. She will serve at least 20 years in jail.

Mr Simpson and his wife Diana, together with his ex-wife Linda, have been locked in a legal battle to bring both grandchildren back to the UK to live in Hartest.

The children had been living with their maternal grandparents in Nanzhang since their father Michael, 34, was killed in March 2017.

As reported in the Mail on Sunday, Alice was flown to Britain at the weekend after Ian and Linda handed over £9,200 to the family of Wei Wei Fu.

Jack was left behind as his Chinese grandparents – prizing boys over girls – refused to give him up.

Mr Simpson, of Brockley Road, with the help of family and friends, raised thousands of pounds to cover legal fees, while Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt raised the issue during an official visit to Beijing in July.

A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “We continue to support the British relatives of Michael Simpson at this difficult and trying time.”